Help with Katrina, Rita

The bill also includes $600 million over six years in separate funds to be used by public schools that were damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Many students in Gulf Coast states continue to attend school in temporary classrooms.

The bill, approved on a 275-155 vote, requires that the federal funding be used by 2015 on environmentally friendly “green construction” projects. But Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, tucked an amendment into the bill that would allow local districts to use the funds to rebuild and repair schools after a natural disaster.

“No bill can erase the pain and suffering caused by a natural disaster, but this provision will at least ensure that students in disaster areas always have a decent place to learn,” Cuellar said.

The vast majority of Republicans opposed the measure. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, said it would create a “giant sucking sound” of money from the U.S. Treasury to pay for local school construction. Rep. Howard McKeon, R-Calif., said the bill would “nationalize and regulate school construction, usurping local control.”

The House-passed plan now goes to the Senate where no companion bill has been filed. But backers expect final approval by the beginning of the school year in the fall.